Three's Company
by sentbyfools
Summary: SLASH. Constance/Athos/D'Artagnan; post-movie. Life is lonely for Athos; Constance and D'Artagnan help.


**title: **Three's Company

**pairing: **Constance/Athos/D'Artagnan

**summary: **post-movie. Life is lonely for Athos; Constance and D'Artagnan help.

**a/n:** I'm not exactly sure how this came about except D'Artagnan and Athos shared _a lot_ of looks, and Constance somehow is the most logical of them all. Also, I didn't even bother with non-modern lingo because the movie didn't either. Yay for remakes! This is part 1 in a series of Constance/D'Artagnan/Athos fics.

* * *

><p>"I think," Constance says to D'Artagnan one day when she stops by their house, "that Athos is very lonely. Perhaps we could fix that."<p>

"How?" D'Artagnan says, silently agreeing with her. Athos himself has even admitted it, not in so many words of course, but he's anything if not obvious in his pain.

"Easily," she says, "We keep him company."

"Don't we do that already?" D'Artagnan says, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

She doesn't say a word in response, just stares at him. After a moment her meaning becomes clear.

"You mean keep him _company_?" he says. He gives her a dumbfounded look.

"Of course."

"Why would I do this?" D'Artagnan asks. It's not like he hasn't thought about what being with Athos might be like. The way Athos looks at him sometimes; it's enough to make D'Artagnan imagine the many things a man like Athos might be skilled at. He's not adverse to the idea at all, it's just he hasn't made the leap from thinking about it to actually going through with it. He has Constance, but now ─ well, maybe he can have Athos too. He runs his fingers through his hair as he waits for Constance's response.

She leans forward and presses a kiss to his cheek and then moves to his neck, kissing all the while.

"I like him, you like him. Isn't that reason enough?" she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Okay," he breathes out. She takes a step back, and smiles at him in a way that makes him feel warmer inside than any of her kisses.

He smiles back at her, unable to help himself, and repeats, "Okay."

* * *

><p>Once it's decided, they go downstairs and into the common room where Athos is sitting and drinking alone. He looks up when Constance and D'Artagnan enter, but otherwise he doesn't react. It must hurt him, seeing D'Artagnan and Constance together considering the way his relationship with Milady ended, but hopefully they'll be able to fix that. Actually, D'Artagnan's confident that they will. Constance is nothing if not successful in her endeavours.<p>

Constance sits down at the table, and D'Artagnan pours her and himself wine. He wonders for a moment whether the disparity between the luxury of the palace and their rather dirty (despite Planchet's attempts at cleaning) home bothers her, but she never says a thing. The only thing she ever criticizes are his attempts at seduction, and he wouldn't have that any other way.

D'Artagnan sits down at the table and sips at his wine. For a while, that's all he does, until Athos breaks the silence.

"You two are unusually quiet," he comments.

"You are a very lonely man," Constance says in response, and D'Artagnan winces. It's pointed, more than D'Artagnan wanted to be, but he supposes this is her show; she'll take the lead, and he'll follow wherever she goes. It's much more rewarding for him, he's found, than doing his own thing, although when the opportunity arises...

"I suppose that wasn't a compliment," Athos says. He takes a swig of something D'Artagnan suspects is much stronger than the wine in his and Constance's mugs.

"No, it was not. This is however," Constance says, and stands up. She walks around the table ever so slowly, and then leans down and presses her lips to Athos'. D'Artagnan watches for a long moment, still surprised at Constance' feelings. Seeing the reality of them right before his face is a little startlingly, and unbelievably hot.

The kiss goes on longer than expected, and D'Artagnan clears his throat after a while.

Constance pulls away slowly, and then turns and smiles brightly at him. D'Artagnan slides his gaze to Athos who's staring at him in a considering manner.

"A very lovely compliment," he says after he takes another swig out of his mug, "Thank you."

"A pleasure," Constance says, and then walks around the table and seats herself in D'Artagnan's lap. The solidity of her weight is enough to keep him grounded in the reality of the situation.

Somehow, this relationship of two has turned into three, and D'Artagnan doesn't mind at all.

* * *

><p>"What are you doing?" Athos says when D'Artagnan follows him out onto the balcony. He'd gone outside moments after Constance's kiss, and Constance had rolled her eyes and sighed until D'Artagnan took the hint and followed.<p>

"What does it look like?" he says, and he doesn't give Athos a chance to respond. Athos is taller than him, so it's easy to slide in between his spread legs and angle his head to press his lips to Athos'. The kiss is just as rough as he expected it to be, but he likes it probably more than he should. He wants to deepen it, wants to drag his fingers through Athos' hair for a better grip, but he's trying to make a statement here, not have sex underneath a bunch of shitting birds.

" A wise man once told me that life is too damn short and too damn long to go through without someone at your side," D'Artagnan says, pulling away from him.

Athos laughs, and says, "You are too cocky for your own good. It's going to get you killed one day."

"I don't know. I think love will keep me alive," D'Artagnan says, grinning at him.

"Hmm," Athos says. He considers the mug of liquor in his hand and then lifts it towards D'Artagnan, "To love then."

D'Artagnan lifts his mug, knocking it against Athos'.

"To love."

"Or something like it," Athos adds. D'Artagnan thinks that punching him in the shoulder might be a little too much, so he doesn't.

He does however push Athos back against the wall, kissing him again, and he's sure that's saying enough.


End file.
